CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht is Out
Chris Licht, the CEO and chairman of CNN, has announced his departure from the company after a brief one-year tenure marked by significant missteps.
The news was shared with CNN employees during the network’s daily editorial call by David Zaslav, the CEO of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
Licht’s exit comes in the wake of a highly critical profile published in The Atlantic, which painted a bleak picture of his leadership.
The past year at CNN has been challenging, with layoffs, historically low ratings, and a noticeable decline in employee morale.
Following the publication of The Atlantic article, Licht personally apologized to the staff on Monday, expressing remorse for any distractions caused and acknowledging that he did not recognize himself in certain aspects of the story. He described the experience as humbling and made a commitment to regain the trust of the employees, vowing to “fight like hell” to do so.
However, it has become evident that Licht’s time as CEO is coming to an end. In the interim, the leadership team at CNN will consist of Amy Entelis, the executive vice president of talent and content development; Virginia Moseley, the executive vice president of editorial; and Eric Sherling, the executive vice president of U.S. programming. David Leavy, who recently assumed the role of chief operating officer, will continue to oversee the company’s commercial activities.
